Isaia 28:24

24 L’aratore ara egli ogni giorno per seminare? non rompe, e non erpica egli la sua terra?

Isaia 28:24 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 28:24

Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow?
&c.] Or, "every day"; he ploughs in order to sow; by ploughing he prepares the ground for sowing, that is his end in ploughing; and he may plough a whole day together when he is at it, but he does not plough every day in the year; he has other work to do besides ploughing, as is later mentioned; such as breaking of clods, sowing seed, and threshing the grain after it is ripe, and reaped, and gathered. The prophet signifies that the Lord, like a ploughman, had different sorts of work; he was not always doing one and the same thing; and particularly, that he would not be always admonishing and threatening men, and making preparation for his judgments, but in a little time he would execute them, signified by after metaphors: doth he open and break the clods of his ground?
he does, with a mallet or iron bar, or with the harrow; whereby the ground is made even, and so more fit for sowing. The Targum interprets the whole in a mystical sense, of the instructions of the prophets, thus,

``at all times the prophets prophesy to teach, if perhaps the ears of sinners may be opened to receive instruction;''

and it may be applied to the work of the Spirit of God upon men's hearts, by the ministry of the word: the heart of man is like the "fallow ground", hard and obdurate, barren and unfruitful; the ministry of the word is the "plough", and ministers are the "ploughmen"; but it is the Spirit of God that makes their ministrations useful, for the conviction of the mind, the pricking of the heart, and breaking it in pieces; see ( Jeremiah 4:3 ) ( 23:29 ) .

Isaia 28:24 In-Context

22 Ora dunque, non vi fate beffe; che talora i vostri legami non sieno rinforzati; perciocchè io ho udita da parte del Signore Iddio degli eserciti una sentenza finale, ed una determinazione contro a tutto il paese.

23 Porgete le orecchie, ed ascoltate la mia voce; state attenti, ed ascoltate il mio ragionamento.

24 L’aratore ara egli ogni giorno per seminare? non rompe, e non erpica egli la sua terra?

25 Quando ne ha appianato il disopra, non vi sparge egli la veccia, e non vi semina egli il comino, e non vi pone egli il frumento a certa misura, e l’orzo a certi segni, e la spelta nel suo proprio spazio?

26 E l’Iddio suo l’ammaestra, e gl’insegna l’ordine che deve guardare.